On re-reading Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'

Abstract

To re-read Shakespeare is like returning to a great city and discovering afresh the splendor of its palaces and art. It matters not that other big cities have been visited in the interval; the new beauties only serve to confirm the supremacy of the old. Even Time does not damage its fame for it more than holds its own against the higher standards that come with. the years .. Whether judged in respect of craftsmanship or of poetry or of drama or of characterization Romeo and Juliet Ieaves an impressive sense of achievement which is thrown into bolder relief by the knowledge that it was one of Shakespeare's early plays -though not his first, as Hazlitt would have us believe! Indeed, its early date cannot escape the perception of a reader who is familiar with other plays of Shakespeare, especially those which.have certain features of style in common with it,. One of the pleasures of re-reading Shakespeare, in fact, is to arrive at some estimate of the chronology of his plays through similarities and dissimilarities in their style.